Apple Pay

As we reported exclusively last night, Apple Pay is now live in Ireland. The service allows iPhone and Apple Watch owners to use the NFC chips in their devices to pay for their shopping at contactless terminals in retail stores across the country.

Apple Pay requires iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, or any Apple Watch, and is launching with support for Ulster Bank and KBC in Ireland. Apple has also announced that the service is coming soon to Italy.

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Apple will launch its mobile payment platform Apple Pay in Ireland tomorrow we have learned from two separate sources with knowledge of the matter. The move comes as we’re also expecting a launch sooner rather than later in Taiwan. Apple Pay allows users to complete transactions in-person, online, and in-app with their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac.

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Bar tabs are one of those conveniences that can sometimes feel like they’re more trouble than they’re worth. In theory, it’s super convenient to hand over your card at the beginning of the evening, allow anyone in a group to order by quoting a tab number or waving a bar card, then settle up at the end of the night.

In practice, though, there are drawbacks – not least, security. You are leaving your card unattended and out of sight for what may be hours. It would take just seconds for any of the bar staff to slip it out of its slot, photograph both sides and then have all your card details, including the three-digit security number.

There’s also the hassle factor of paying at the end of the evening – usually at the same time everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Mastercard has come up with an interesting solution to both problems through an app, and it’s an approach I’d love to see offered in Apple Pay …

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Apple Pay is now available from over 40 more banks and credit unions around the United States as part of the latest expansion wave. Apple’s mobile payment service launched just over two years ago with hundreds of additional regional banks and credit unions added every few weeks. You can find the latest banks added below.

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Apple Pay has slowly been making its way around the world, but there are still a variety of countries where the service hasn’t launched. Today, however, Polish website iMagazine discovered a handful of hints on Apple’s website that suggest Apple Pay may soon be coming to Germany and Italy.

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Jaguar has announced a new in-car fuel payment feature that it says works with Apple Pay. The feature is only available at Shell stations starting in the UK, but Jaguar says it “will become available later this year in other markets.”

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Apple’s long-standing battle with banks in Australia continues today. According to a report from Reuters, the Australian banks plan to shift their argument with Apple towards gaining access to the contactless payment function, rather than haggling over the fees Apple charges for each transaction.

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Update: Target emailed to clarify that its Twitter support account was incorrect and that it isn’t currently exploring integrating Apple Pay in stores:

We have no plans or work underway currently to make Apple Pay available in our stores.

We continue to offer Apple Pay for online purchases in the Target app. And while we are exploring mobile wallet opportunities for our stores, we have no updates on our plans to share at this time.

One of the most notable Apple Pay holdouts has been Target. Despite promising to support the mobile payment platform, Target has instead opted for its own in-app payment solution and store card.

According to a customer service tweet from the company, however, Target is still investigating Apple Pay and is working on getting the technology in its stores. Specifics are unclear, but the tweet said that it would happen “soon.”

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We reported this morning that vice president of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey recently shared her thoughts on the battle going on between Apple and Australia’s big banks.

In the new interview, Bailey made optimistic statements about the future of Apple Pay in Australia with one of the more interesting ones being “customers will say they are happy to switch banks to use it.” We’re curious to know, is this true for you? Have you or would you switch banks for Apple’s payment service?

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Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has responded to the legal dispute taking place between Apple and the major Australian banks, in an interview with AFR.com. Bailey revealed that participating customers in Australia use the contactless payment service more frequently than any other country, and that the holdout banks do not fully understand the benefits of Apple Pay yet.

Bailey says customers are prepared to switch banks in order to use Apple Pay, which should help Apple wield its bargaining power. In fact, a handful of smaller Australian banks have signed up to Apple Pay as of today …

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Square is releasing a new iPad-based point-of-sale solution called Square for Retail that includes “a complete package of business tools built to work together seamlessly.” The point-of-sale package starts with a new iPad app launching today called Square Retail.

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Apple has hit walls introducing Apple Pay into Australia with the banks arguing Apple’s business practice was anticompetitive. The banks demanded access to the NFC hardware in the iPhone to be able to offer competing contactless mobile payments services. Apple refused and the banks went to court.

Although draft rulings indicate that the court will rule in favour of Apple, the final decision will be announced in March. Today, Apple continues to lay on the criticism accusing the Australian banks for attempting to ‘delay or even block’ the Apple Pay rollout.

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Square already makes it possible for small businesses to easily accept Apple Pay at checkout with their latest payment terminal, and now Square is working with Apple on a new promotion to discount Square Readers and make processing fees free for businesses that use Apple Pay.

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While Apple doesn’t reveal much in the way of specifics about usage of Apple Pay, consumer spending analytics company TXN has pulled some data from a panel of over three million consumers. It says that analysis of credit card bills from banks which distinguish Apple Pay transactions suggest that usage of the payment method grew by slightly over 50% in the 12 months ending December 2016.

The company also revealed the most popular bricks and mortar retailers and websites among Apple Pay users …

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Target has accepted Apple Pay in its mobile app since Apple’s mobile payment service launched in 2014, but the retailer still doesn’t take Apple Pay in stores. Now Target is planning to introduce its own mobile payment solution later this year which suggests Apple Pay support in stores isn’t coming any time soon.

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[UPDATE 1/19: New China banks added.]

Apple Pay is now available from over a dozen more banks and credit unions around the United States, France, and Australia as part of the latest expansion wave. Apple’s mobile payment service launched just over two years ago with hundreds of additional regional banks and credit unions added every few weeks. You can find the latest banks added below.

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USA Technologies announced today that Apple Pay is getting support for its MORE loyalty card and payroll deduct program that is accepted at more than 300,000 vending machines across the US. The company is demoing the new integration this week at CES 2017.

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